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WARNING ISSUED: Torbay taxi driver kept licence despite nine speeding points and failure to report offences
A Torbay taxi and private hire driver who accumulated nine DVLA penalty points from three speeding offences has received a three-year written warning after failing to report any of them to the council.
Two offences took place on 20 July 2023 and the third on 11 October 2025. The driver had also stated on a licence renewal application that he had no convictions, according to the committee minutes.
The warning will be brought to the attention of councillors if further concerns require the driver to appear before a Regulatory Sub-Committee during the next three years. He must complete a RoSPA Defensive Driving Level 2 course within three months and provide evidence of completion to the licensing department.
The driver must also familiarise himself with Torbay’s taxi and private hire policy and keep a copy in his licensed vehicle while on duty. The committee took no action against his hackney carriage vehicle proprietor’s licence.
Councillors said the speeding offences and failure to report them fell below the standards expected of a licensed driver. They assessed the case on the basis that the driver had accumulated nine points, although the points from the two 2023 offences had expired by the hearing, leaving three active points.
The driver accepted responsibility for the offences and acknowledged that he should have reported them. He told the committee that other drivers had incorrectly advised him that reporting was unnecessary until he had more than six points. He also said he had misunderstood the meaning of “convictions” on the renewal form.
The committee did not regard those explanations as excusing the failures, but accepted that the driver had not deliberately concealed the offences. It also noted that no passengers were in the vehicle during the speeding incidents.
Councillors concluded that he remained a fit and proper person to hold a driver’s licence and that a warning and training were proportionate.
